Never Breathed A Breath
by lovisa.johansson.963
Summary: R&R please. Amberpaw, Kestrelpaw, Hauntpaw, Nocturnalpaw and Jekyll are five very different kits and yet they have one thing in common: The destiny of the Clans rest on their shoulders. But we can all fail, destiny or not. Can they truly save the Clans? More importantly, do they want to? Follow them on their journey through the hardships their life has to offer. T for blood.
1. Allegiances

**Note: This is just allegiances! Go to next chapter unless you want to read all the names and descriptions which took me a half eternity. EDIT: Changed Jekyll into a calico. EDIT 2: Added in the new apprentices and Leafdapple is now a queen.**

_Allegiances_

**WindClan**

**Leader**: Mossstar- gray she-cat with white stripes and paws, amber eyes

**Deputy**: Foxtail- red tom with black paws, ears and white tailtip, green eyes

**Medicine Cat**: Lifesoul- silver tabby she-cat with white spots on both shoulders, green eyes

**Warriors**

Robinsong- gray she-cat with red chest and face, white underbelly and dark brown eyes  
**Apprentice, Brownpaw**

Redpelt- red tom with light ginger chest and underbelly, brown eyes **(Smallbird's mate)**  
**Apprentice, Applepaw**

Smallbird- light brown she-cat with darker stripes under her amber eyes and across her back **(Redpelt's mate)**

Skywind- blue-gray tom with lighter spots, blue eyes  
**Apprentice, Quickpaw**

Whitewhisker- brown tom with a white muzzle and gray eyes

Batflight- black tom with gray belly and paws, bright amber eyes**  
**

Ravenfeather- deep black tom with a small, deep scar under his right eye and three white spots under his left eye, ice-blue eyes  
**Apprentice, Nocturnalpaw**

Emberglow- pale brown tabby she-cat with darker stripes and orange eyes  
**Apprentice, Stormpaw**

Mudsplash- light brown tom with mud-colored spots on back, white belly and blazing amber eyes  
**Apprentice, Owlpaw**

**Apprentices**

Stormpaw- pale gray tabby tom with dark gray eyes

Quickpaw- gray tom with faint black stripes and green eyes

Applepaw- brown tabby she-cat with a white tail and orange eyes

Owlpaw- tortoiseshell-and-white tom with sharp brown eyes

Brownpaw- dark brown tom with tan spots dotting his back

Nocturnalpaw- blue-black she-cat with light blue-gray underbelly, toes and brilliant green eyes

Jekyll- calico tom with one brilliant green eye and one skyblue eye

**Queens**

**ThunderClan**

**Leader**: Autumnstar- sleek orange-and-red tabby she-cat with dark green eyes

**Deputy**: Meadowpelt- dull brown-and-light brown she-cat with light green eyes

**Medicine Cat**: Blindeyes- dark gray she-cat with light gray rain-shaped spots on her back and shoulders, white blind eyes

**Medicine Cat Apprentice: **Amberpaw- fiery ginger she-cat with blazing amber eyes and a twisted paw

**Warriors**

Bushtail- sleek brown tabby tom with a bushy tail and amber eyes

Swiftflight- pale tabby tom with pale yellow eyes **(Bluepool's mate)**

Darkcloud- dark gray-and-silver tom with yellow eyes slightly tinged with orange **(Frosttail's mate)**

Bluepool- blue-gray she-cat with a silver tail and deep blue eyes **(Swiftflight's mate)**  
**Apprentice, Olivepaw**

Willowsprig- dark tabby tom with dark orange eyes

Thistlethorn- black tabby she-cat with brown mottles and brown eyes  
**Apprentice, Shellpaw**

Birchleaf- white tom with black, oblong spots and pale gray eyes

Icecrack- white tom with gray stripes, toes, tail and light blue eyes

Runningstep- lithe tabby tom with dark brown eyes

**Apprentices**

Olivepaw- brown she-cat with thin black stripes and bright green eyes

Shellpaw- tan she-cat with a small, white dash on her chest and muzzle, blue eyes

**Queens**

Frosttail- white-and-silver she-cat with pale green eyes **(Darkcloud's mate)**

Leafdapple- ginger tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes **(Birchleaf's mate)**

**Elders**

Frogleap- old pale, shaggy, ragged, gray-brown tom with dull green eyes whose pelt once was sleek

Leopardspring- bengal she-cat with matted fur and dull blue eyes

**ShadowClan**

**Leader**: Falconstar- light brown tabby tom with sharp claws, white muzzle, dark brown chin, chest, underbelly and sharp, brown eyes

**Deputy**: Tornbreeze- long-furred dark grayish brown tom with dark amber eyes

**Medicine Cat**: Whitepelt- big white tom with dark yellow eyes

**Medicine Cat Apprentice**: Mousetail- small light brown tom with a white belly and dark, almost black, brown eyes

**Warriors**

Fuzzpelt- dark brown tom with long fur and yellow eyes **(One-ear's mate)**

Tigerfang- golden brown tabby tom with strong amber eyes **(Seedfur's mate)**  
**Apprentice, Tallpaw**

Sorrelleaf- ginger-and-white tabby she-cat with bright blue eyes**  
****Apprentice, Cherrypaw**

Seedfur- fluffy, creamy brown she-cat with dark brown face and eyes **(Tigerfang's mate)**

One-ear- light brown she-cat with a striped tail, only one ear, a long scar carving through her face from where her ear used to be and green eyes **(Fuzzpelt's mate)**  
**Apprentice, Hauntpaw**

Lightfoot- lithe yet muscular pale gray-and-brown tom with mossy green eyes  
**Apprentice, Oakpaw**

Sandtalon- sandy tabby tom with green-yellow eyes  
**Apprentice, Flamepaw**

Gorsepelt- golden she-cat with yellow petal-shaped dapples and orange eyes  
**Apprentice, Lightningpaw**

Rosethorn- pinkish ginger-and-cream she-cat with blue eyes

**Apprentices**

Lightningpaw- silver tabby tom with darker underbelly and chest, lightning-blue eyes

Tallpaw- dark tortoiseshell she-cat with orange eyes

Oakpaw- chestnut tom with darker spots along his sides and green eyes

Cherrypaw- pale tortoiseshell she-cat with chestnut spots along her back and green-yellow eyes

Hauntpaw- large dark gray-and-black tom with strong yellow eyes

Flamekit- flame-coloured tom with yellow streaks and intensely orange eyes

**Queens**

**Elders**

Tailstump- grizzled old tom with a stump for a tail and almost-blind, light gray eyes

**RiverClan**

**Leader**: Lionstar- powerful golden-and-brown tabby tom with emerald eyes

**Deputy**: Waterripple- blue-silver tabby she-cat with dull blue eyes and a dark gray back

**Medicine Cat**: Hollyberry- dark red she-cat with bright green eyes

**Warriors**

Minnowpelt- tortoiseshell-and-gray she-cat with green eyes  
**Apprentice, Ebonypaw**

Larktail- gray-and-yellow, mottled she-cat with brown eyes  
**Apprentice, Ivorypaw**

Dustpath- dark sandy tabby tom with dark amber eyes  
**Apprentice, Splashpaw**

Brackenleaves- tawny tabby she-cat with a dash of white on her chest and her muzzle, bracken-coloured eyes  
**Apprentice, Reedpaw**

Shimmerfur- sleek white tabby she-cat with pretty blue eyes **(Lionstar's mate)**

Piketail- spotted dark brown tom with a white underbelly and green eyes  
**Apprentice, Yellowpaw**

Freespirit- white she-cat with brown splotches and dark brown eyes  
**Apprentice, Kestrelpaw**

Kitefeather- brown tom with a ginger chest and tail, white shoulders, darker brown flecks and orange eyes  
**Apprentice, Patchpaw**

Cedarface- cream white tom with a dark brown face and blue eyes  
**Apprentice, Russetpaw**

Stonepelt- dark-and-pale gray tom with pale green eyes

**Apprentices**

Yellowpaw- golden-and-brown tabby she-cat

Ebonypaw- gray tabby she-cat with a cream yellow chest and belly, light brown small patches in her fur and green-yellow eyes

Ivorypaw- snow-white she-cat with turquoise eyes

Patchpaw- ginger, black and white tom with pale blue eyes

Russetpaw- light red tabby she-cat with dark orange eyes

Kestrelpaw- light brown spotted tabby she-cat with a white, crescent-shaped splash on her chest and sharp, dark brown eyes

Splashkit- white-and-golden brown tom with blue eyes

Reedkit- big black tabby tom with brown eyes

**Queens**

**Elders**

Scarface- old shaggy pale tom with a huge scar across his face and pale gray eyes

Silentvoice- old she-cat with ragged dark blue-gray-and-white tabby fur, her tongue cut off after a battle and dull amber eyes

**Cats outside the Clans**

Snag- loner gray-and-white tom with yellow eyes

Ride- ragged loner brown-and-white tom with blue eyes


	2. Chapter 1

**Please review! I really appreciate it!**

Chapter 1  
~Five~

The ginger she-kit straightened her back and looked at her Clan with dignity. She ignored their sympathetic looks and turned her amber gaze to Autumnstar, her leader.

"Amberkit", Autumnstar began. "From this day forward until the day you recieve your medicine cat name you will be known as Amberpaw. I know that I am putting you in safe paws as Blindeyes' apprentice."

The ginger she-cat stepped forward to Blindeyes, her new mentor, and touched noses with her.

"Amberpaw! Amberpaw!" the Clan cheered. She strained her ears to pick up a certain she-cat's voice in the crowds, but she couldn't hear a whisper from that one she-cat.

The cheers soon died down and the Clan went on as they usually did. Shellpaw and Olivepaw, who had been her friends in the nursery and became apprentices only a moon before her, gave her a quick "congratulations" before running off with their mentors. She watched them go, forcing down a twinge of sadness.

"Amberpaw." Blindeyes' voice dragged her gaze away from Shellpaw and Olivepaw. "I was planning on getting some more marigold", the blind medicine cat continued. "My stores are running low, and with leaf-fall coming it would be best to collect as many as we can while we still can, that is. With Autumnstar challenging WindClan for more territory is just making things worse."

Amberpaw nodded and followed her out through the thorn tunnel. They went out into the forest and the warm green-leaf sun shone its rays down on their backs through the crowns of the trees. They walked silently through the undergrowth. Amberpaw felt the scent of mouse and opened her mouth to ask her mentor if she should try to catch it, but instantly closed it again.

Suddenly, Blindeyes crouched down and weaved through the undergrowth, twitching her ears and whiskers repeatedly. She stopped dead in her tracks and launched herself into the air, landing on the mouse Amberpaw had scented. The blind medicine cat killed it with a quick bite to the neck and buried it in the earth before turning to a stunned Amberpaw.

"That's what the hunting crouch looks like", Blindeyes explained. "Now you try."

Amberpaw, her mouth still gaping in astonishment, nodded and dropped into the same crouch as Blindeyes had just done. Just as she was about to stalk forward, her mentor placed a paw on her back softly, making her stand still.

"Don't arch your back like that", the blind she-cat ordered after a couple of heartbeats of prodding the apprentice's back. Amberpaw glanced at her mentor's dark gray fur quickly to make sure she wasn't angry and did as she said. "Good", she commented. "Try to stalk through the undergrowth without making a sound."

Amberpaw nodded and placed paw by paw in front of her as silently as she could.

"Great, you've got it!" Blindeyes praised. "It's not perfect, but we'll find out a way for you to work with only three legs."

Amberpaw brightened up, but shot a quick glance at her left fore paw. It was twisted so horribly that you could almost see her pads on the front of her leg. Olivepaw and Shellpaw had been frightened the first time they saw her, but they quickly got used to it. It didn't change the fact that she had to become a medicine cat instead of a warrior, though.

"Come on then", Blindeyes meowed and padded on through the forest. "We still need to get marigold."

Amberpaw shook herself and followed her mentor closely, their pelts brushing by each other. They soon arrived in a small clearing where plenty of the yellow flowers grew. In silence, the two cats began to pick marigolds with their teeth.

"Blindeyes, can I ask you for something?" Amberpaw mewed, breaking the silence.

Blindeyes didn't look up, but twitched an ear to show that she was listening. "Go ahead."

Amberpaw fastened her blazing amber eyes on her mentor's white blind ones, taking a deep breath. "Can you promise to make me a great medicine cat? Please."

Her mentor's eyes widened slightly in surprise and looked up into hers. In spite of the fact that Blindeyes couldn't see, Amberpaw felt as if she had sharp eagle eyes rather than cat eyes.

"I am already working on that, mousebrain", she replied firmly, though there was a hint of softness in her voice.

Amberpaw dipped her head in gratitude. A heavy weight of sadness still rested on her shoulders, but it became lighter with Blindeyes' promise. Enthusiastically, she picked as many marigolds as her jaws could carry and decided to help Blindeyes the best she could.

i...i

Amberpaw slowly opened her eyes and found herself to be in a dream. Figures, since she fell asleep a moment ago in Blindeyes' den. Eager to be in the simple life of dreams, she leapt forward to run like a normal cat as she always did in her dreams.

But her fore paw was the same as in real life and to her surprise, she tripped over at the pain which convulsed through her body when she put her paw down hard.

"Ow", she yammered and lashed her tail irritably as she got up, glaring at her paw. "Why does it hurt in my dream?!"

"Because it's not a normal dream, young kit", a soft female voice mewed. Amberpaw spun around to see a large group of cats scattered around the moors of her dream. She let out a bewildered gasp. She had never seen so many cats in one place. There were more cats than there was in ThunderClan!

"And you've lost her", a mottled gray tabby tom snorted at the silver-and-white she-cat who had spoken first to Amberpaw. "Way to go, Moonfall."

The she-cat, Moonfall appearantly, glared at the tom and puffed out her chest defensively. "I didn't mean to startle her, Jayfeather! It's not like I can help that there's a lot to distract her here!"

Amberpaw opened her mouth to protest, but another cat spoke before she could utter a word.

"Do you two always fight when you're in the same place?" a tan tabby tom sighed. "Could you at least keep your mouths shut while we have such young guests here?"

"You know, she might just be a little bit overwhelmed, that's all", a brown-and-light cream tom with a stump for a tail suggested. Irritation of being ignored prickled in Amberpaw's pelt and she tried to speak, but once again she was interrupted by one of the cats around her.

"'A little bit overwhelmed', Bearfoot?" a dark brown she-cat with dark ginger dapples on her flanks sneered. "I was more than 'a little bit overwhelmed' the first time I got here, and from what I hear, so were you."

"Are you all kits?" a long-furred dark gray she-cat with a broad face spat. "Is this why we came here, to gawk at a kit and to talk about how the first time we got here like senile old mangepelts? The first time I got here, I-"

A gray she-cat with deep blue eyes let out a snort of laughter. "If anyone's senile here, then it's you, Yellowfang", she mrrowed affectionately.

Amberpaw's fur was by now fluffed up twice her original size and she cleared her throat loudly before the cats could bicker any further. "Hey, I'm right here! Care to tell me what's going on?"

The dark gray cat, seemingly called Yellowfang, turned her head to Amberpaw. "Oh, right. Sorry." Her amber gaze glared intensely at the other cats. "The others are waiting for us. Jayfeather, Goosefeather, you're coming with me. Bluestar, Firestar! You can come too."

The mottled gray tabby called Jayfeather yawned and jumped down from the rock he was lying on and joined Yellowfang. A speckled gray tom with pale blue eyes, supposedly Goosefeather, silently went ahead of Amberpaw and the two others.

"Fine, let's go then", Goosefeather meowed hoarsely. "I saw this prophecy coming before any of you even set a paw in StarClan and it's finally coming, so let's not waste any time, shall we?"

The blue-gray she-cat Yellowfang had called Bluestar matched Goosefeather's pace and nodded solemnly. "Yes, let's go."

A flame-colored tom with emerald eyes joined them as well and gave Amberpaw a friendly nod. "Greetings, Amberpaw", he meowed. "Welcome to StarClan. Don't worry, you're not dead. You're just a visitor. We're just going to show you something very important."

Amberpaw flinched. She had recognized their names as soon as she heard them, but now she finally realized where. Frogleap and Leopardspring had often told her stories about them. These were ThunderClan cats who had gone down in history!

Stiffly, she scurried after them and matched their pace the best she could.

They soon arrived in a clearing with pine trees and leaf trees lined the right side of it. A river rushed by on the left and the grass was higher than Amberpaw. It was a bit like a mix of all four territories, she thought.

"They aren't here yet?" Goosefeather hissed irritably. "I'd thought at least Brambleberry would be here in time."

"Calm down, Goosefeather", Jayfeather meowed, though an edge in his voice exposed his own irritation. "See, they're coming now."

True, three other groups of cats emerged from the high grass. Each one of them had an apprentice with them in about Amberpaw's age.

"Sorry we're late", a white she-cat with small black spots all over her pelt excused herself. She was accompanied by a light brown tabby with a crooked jaw, a blue-gray she-cat who resembled Bluestar a lot, a long-furred brown tom and a dark gray tabby she-cat. The apprentice who was with them was a light brown spotted tabby she-cat with a white, crescent-shaped splash on her chest. They smelled strangely, a scent that could only be described as fish so Amberpaw guessed they were RiverClan.

The second group consisted of a big, muscular white tom with jet-black paws, a very dark gray tom with white underbelly, a snowy-white she-cat with long whiskers, a small brown tabby and a dark ginger tom with bright blue eyes. The apprentice with them was an unsure-looking, large dark gray-and-black tom with strong yellow eyes, outstanding in the contrast of his dark fur. They were all kind of shady cats, and from their scent of pine on them Amberpaw assumed they were ShadowClan.

The last group were obviously WindClan, as they were all lean and slender, built for running over never-ending moors. The cats in this group were a powerful black-and-white tom, a smaller light brown tabby tom, a brown tom with a short tail, a mottled brownish-gray tom with white splotches and a mottled dark brown tom with yellow eyes. Their apprentice was a bluish black she-cat with light blue-gray underbelly and toes. Her eyes were a color of brilliant green and her gaze was flickering between Amberpaw and the other apprentices, clearly wondering what was going on, though with a tinge of fascination.

"Where's that loner kit?" the dark brown mottled WindClan tom rasped.

"Ravenpaw's fetching him", Firestar explained. "He should be here any minute."

"You shouldn't even be here, Hawkheart", Goosefeather growled. "Why did you even come to StarClan in the first place? Whoever let you in was a mousebrain to do so..."

"We mustn't fight", the black-and-white tom ordered. "You haven't forgotten the importance of this situation, have you?"

"Yeah, about that", the WindClan apprentice meowed. "Why are we here? What is this situation you keep talking about, Tallstar?"

"Even though I respect your decision to keep quiet, Crookedstar, I must ask the same thing", the RiverClan apprentice said respectfully.

"Yeah!" a new voice called. A ginger-and-white tom in the age of an apprentice skipped out from the high grass and into the clearing, followed by a small black tom.  
"Sorry it took so long", the black tom apologized to the ThunderClan cats. "He was pretty surprised to be here."  
"Snag and Ride told me this place was just a kit's tale", the ginger-and-white tom explained. His eyes were strange; one of them was green and the other one was blue. On top of that, judging by his scent, he was a loner. Why was a loner here in StarClan?

The big white ShadowClan tom sighed and sat down. "Let's just get this over with."

Suddenly, the ground disappeared underneath Amberpaw. She fell and fell into darkness, flailing her paws desperately in the air, hoping to get a hold of something. She landed hard on her side somewhere in the darkness, knocking the breath out of her. Bewildered, she looked around to see only blackness. Was she blind? No, wait. She could still see her paws and the rest of her body. So why was it so dark?!

In despair, she searched for any kind of light. Finally, she saw something far away. Relief washing over her, she rushed towards the light. But before she could reach it, something blocked her path. It had some features that were alike a cat, yet it wasn't. No, this wasn't like a cat at all. Its teeth were to long, its claws too sharp, its eyes too bloodthirsty. The smallest shred of compassion for fellow living beings had been vanished long ago. It made a swift movement, to quick for Amberpaw to follow it and its teeth were now crunching into her bones. She shrieked in pain and agony, and just as she thought she was going to die, she stood in the warm ThunderClan forest, unharmed. A voice echoed through the familiar sounds of the swaying trees.

_"Enemies come in all shapes. Be prepared to face the ones of the most terrifying forms."_

A wail came from the ThunderClan camp. Amberpaw spun around to see a mother bent over her kits. The kits were not breathing. Beside the mother lay another she-cat, blood still pouring out of her. Some kits that were alive were by the she-cat's side, wailing loudly for milk, but the she-cat was dead and couldn't feed the new-born kits. The voice rang in Amberpaw's head once again.

_"The ones who have not breathed a single breath will die before they are allowed to. A disease that can't be cured by normal herbs is coming."_

"The prey!" an elder yowled, pointing at a dead mouse in front of him. "It's filled with maggots!"

The next moment maggots crawled out of all the prey on the fresh-kill pile. Amberpaw's eyes were widened with horror. So many!

The enviorment around her changed once again and she was back in the clearing in StarClan. All the other apprentices were trying to catch their breath, appearantly just as horrified as her. The StarClan cats were all sitting on one rock each, their eyes glowing brightly.

_"You are the only ones who can save the Clans. You will find the one cure in the skies. You will go together when the time is right."_

'Savior?' Amberpaw thought, her head dizzy with confusion and questions. 'How can I be a savior? I'm only a useless medicine cat apprentice with a twisted paw! Why?!'

**Author's Note: Finally, the first chapter! Now some things are going to happen, at least. Phew! Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! ...please!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Please review! I want to know what you think!**

Chapter 2  
~Meeting~

"Um, Tornbreeze?"

Hauntkit poked his father's nose carefully, half-hoping that he would wake up and half-hoping that he wouldn't. He and his father rarely spoke and he was unsure what his father's feelings towards him were. Hauntkit didn't even know what his own feelings were towards the tom who had fathered him.

Tornbreeze slowly opened his dark amber eyes, looking drowsily at the gray-and-black apprentice. "What is it, Hauntkit?"

Hauntkit shuffled his paws in the earth, embarrassed. "Umm, wh-who were Sagewhisker, Cedarstar, Blackstar, Littlecloud and Flametail?"

Tornbreeze raised an eyebrow and sat up. "You mean you never heard the stories about them? You use to visit Tailstump and Graypelt all the time."

"I know", Hauntkit replied uneasily, remembering Graypelt, an elder who had died recently. "I just wanted to hear who they were again. I don't remember that much."

"Why don't you ask Tailstump?" Tornbreeze queried.

"Because if I do now, I'm going to get out with no ears left", the gray-and-black kit responded with a shudder at the thought.

Tornbreeze sighed heavily. "Fine, if it really can't wait. Cedarstar was a ShadowClan leader, Sagewhisker was a medicine cat during his and Raggedstar's rule, Blackstar was the ShadowClan leader after Tigerstar, Littlecloud was the medicine cat during Blackstar and Rowanstar's rule and Flametail was his first apprentice who drowned in the lake during one very cold leaf-bare. Does that answer your question?"

Hauntkit nodded, though disappointment hung heavy on his shoulders. Seedfur always told him and Flamekit detailed stories about the old times of the Clans so he wanted his father to do that too. He stood up and turned around to exit the warriors' den.

"Wait, Hauntkit", Tornbreeze demanded, causing him to stop. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just curiousity", Hauntkit replied flatly. Tornbreeze opened his mouth to say something more and a softness Hauntkit had never seen before in the tom entered his eyes, but the moment was short and he lay his head down on his paws again.

"Okay. See you in the morning", he said instead of whatever he had first wanted to say.

"Mh, thanks", Hauntkit mewed. He scurried across camp and back to the nursery where Flamekit and Seedfur were still sleeping. He lay down close to his foster brother and mother, yawning quietly before closing his eyes and drifted into sleep with a bewildered mind.

'So I really met dead cats?!'

i...i

"Hauntkit, wake up!" Flamekit called, shaking the gray-and-black kit. "We're becoming apprentices today, remember? So don't be a dormouse, please!"

Hauntkit shook his head and slowly got to his paws. "Right, we are", he yawned as he stretched. He was nervous, but he tried his best to hide it. This was his chance. If he did real good as an apprentice, maybe he and Tornbreeze would talk a bit more.

"If you're going to become apprentices, then you can't look like that", Seedfur scolded as she ran her tongue across Flamekit's flame-colored fur. "How do you manage to get so much dust in your pelt from just one play-fight?!"

"Uumm... our pelts are very dust-attracting?" Hauntkit suggested.

Flamekit let out a snort of laughter. "Yup, dust sure do love our pelts!"

Seedfur let out an exasperated sigh, though amusement in her eyes was gleaming brightly. "Then you better tell the dust to find another pelt to cling to."

"Will do, mom", Flamekit grinned. Seedfur moved on to cleaning Hauntkit and was done just as Falconstar's call echoed around camp. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Tall Pine for a Clan meeting!"

Flamekit and Hauntkit both flinched in synch. They exchanged glances and walked out of the nursery with their heads held high. Hauntkit was glad he had his foster brother by his side, even though they were both scared.

They sat down by the Tall Pine in the center of every cat's attention. Hauntkit felt his ears burn in embarrassment and wanted to hide behind Flamekit, but he was already in the size of a nine moons old apprentice while Flamekit was in the size of a normal apprentice so it wouldn't help at all to hide behind the flame-colored kit.

"I have called this meeting for a very important ceremony. Flamekit and Hauntkit are old enough to become apprentices", Falconstar announced. The Clan nodded and looked at the two kits encouragingly. Hauntkit glanced at Tornbreeze, but the dark grayish brown tom was fixing his gaze at Falconstar only.

"Hauntkit!" Falconstar's vocation brought his attention back to the Clan leader. "From this moment on until the day you recieve your warrior name, you will be known as Hauntpaw. One-ear will be your mentor."

One-ear dipped her head. "I won't let you down, Falconstar."

Hauntkit felt a small pang of panic. One-ear was known to be cranky, impatient, sharp-tongued and no one longed for the day she'd join the elders' den. She often made remarks that he needed to stop being such a mouseheart and he still couldn't tell whether she was joking or not. To topit off, she was Fuzzpelt's mate and was the mother of Rosethorn, Tallpaw, Oakpaw and Cherrypaw. StarClan knew how they managed to be so nice with those two as their parents. How was he supposed to survive with a mentor like that?!

"Flamekit!" Falconstar continued. "From this day until you recieve your warrior name, you will be known as Flamepaw. Sandtalon will be your mentor."

Flamepaw and his newly appointed mentor touched noses and Hauntkit, now Hauntpaw, found himself quickly touching One-ear's nose with his own. His Clanmates' cheering filled his ears and the ground seemed to shake under him.

'I haven't been this nervous in my entire life', he thought, widening his eyes and digging his claws into the earth not to wobble.

"Hey, Hauntkit", One-ear meowed, catching Hauntpaw's attention. It took him a moment of staring blankly at the light brown she-cat before he caught her words.

"I'm Hauntpaw now", he responded, feeling offended of being called by a name that was no longer his.

"I'm calling you kit until you prove not to be", One-ear replied nonchalantly. Turning to Sandtalon and Flamepaw, she continued; "We're going to the RiverClan border for a patrol. I promised Tornbreeze I'd go so he wouldn't have to. That crazy ball of fur has been overworking himself too much on lately."

Hauntpaw flinched and glanced at said tom. He had always been in the nursery or playing in camp and Tornbreeze had never really visited him, so he didn't notice whether the tom was outside camp or not. His heart sank. 'He's working so hard because of me, doesn't he...'

He was, after all, half-Clan.

He had never asked to be the kit of a RiverClan cat and a ShadowClan cat, but he was, and he was the living stain upon Tornbreeze's honor.

He heard Sandtalon's hissing patiently that they should be going and he followed the two warriors as he padded along side Flamepaw, forcing his gaze to leave the ShadowClan deputy, however he couldn't force his mind to do the same.

i...i

Hauntpaw's pupils darted around every corner of the island where gatherings were held. He and the rest of ShadowClan were first there and he couldn't wait to see the other Clans.

"Maybe your sister is an apprentice now, Hauntpaw!" Flamepaw exclaimed excitedly. "She might come here! And your mother, of course!"

"Shh!" Hauntpaw hushed his foster brother quickly, sitting down with a straight back. "We're from different Clans, so we can't get that close anyways."

"Cats from different Clans can be friends, you know", Tallpaw meowed as she sat down beside Hauntpaw. "I'm good friends with Ebonypaw and Ivorypaw from RiverClan and I've been friends with Runningstep of ThunderClan since the day I became an apprentice. As for WindClan, I must say that Stormpaw and Quickpaw are quite handsome for that bunch of scrawny kitties", she added with a smirk.

"Don't be ridicolous, Tallpaw", Cherrypaw snorted, amused. "Stormpaw and Quickpaw can't be handsome with their attitude. They hissed at me when I asked if they wanted to talk about things! They called me spy, even. It's a miracle Applepaw is so nice with those two as brothers!"

"Oooh but Stormpaw and Quickpaw are soooo dreamy", Oakpaw said sarcastically, imitating his sisters' voices. Tallpaw stuck out her tongue at him and Cherrypaw cuffed him behind his ear.

"Could you five keep your mouths shut now?" Lightningpaw asked impatiently. "The other Clans are coming now."

Hauntpaw turned his head around to see if Lightningpaw's words were true and indeed, a long row of cats was walking across the big tree which served as a bridge to the island. In the front walked a orange-and-red tabby she-cat, her pelt like fire in the contrast to the dark night. He guessed she was a Clan leader since she climbed up on the great tree where Falconstar was sitting. The rest of her Clan followed her closely and they huddled together close to ShadowClan. Hauntpaw winced as he noticed a yellowish ginger she-cat in about his age sit down under the great tree. He recognized her - it was the ThunderClan apprentice from his dream, the one with the twisted paw!

After the first Clan came a large group of lean, slender cats with a white-striped gray she-cat in the front.

"Who are these cats?" Flamepaw asked the older apprentices.

"Oh, I forgot you haven't seen them before. Sorry!" Tallpaw apologized sincerely.

"The cats who arrived first are ThunderClan, and that orange she-cat is Autumnstar", Lightningpaw explained, a glint of pride in his eyes to know more than others. "The ThunderClan medicine cat is that dark gray she-cat with light gray spots. Her name is Blindeyes. I don't know who that apprentice beside her is, though. I guess she's taken an apprentice. Anyways, the ThunderClan deputy is Meadowpelt, that dull brown-and-light brown she-cat close to Blindeyes and that apprentice."

"The Clan who just arrived are WindClan", Oakpaw put in, stealing the explaining from Lightningpaw as WindClan's leader scrambled up in the tree. "That gray she-cat is Mossstar, their leader of course. Her deputy is Foxtail, the fox-like tom under the tree beside Meadowpelt. Her medicine cat is Lifesoul, the spotted silver tabby she-cat. Their former medicine cat was Singingstream, but she died three moons ago."

"Yeah, you two suck at explaining", Tallpaw taunted the two toms. "Look, RiverClan's coming!"

Hauntpaw felt talons of panic grip him and he fixed his gaze at his paws. The fish-smelling RiverClan cats passed him and he forced himself to continue to stare at his paws, even when he thought he smelled a familiar scent among them. Very familiar...

"Hauntkit, right?" a very, very familiar voice queried. "Or Hauntpaw now, perhaps?"

The gray-and-black apprentice slowly met the familiar voice's gaze and stared into those familiar, dark brown eyes.

"K-Kestrelkit?" he stuttered, trying to sound dignified.

The familiar she-cat in front of him shook her head. "No, I'm Kestrelpaw now. You didn't answer my question, though."

"Oh, right. Y-Yeah, I'm Hauntpaw now. I became an apprentice a moon ago", he replied, cursing his tongue for being persistent to stammer.

"Congratulations. I hope you'll be a good warrior", Kestrelpaw, his sister, meowed, a hint of a small smile on her lips.

Hauntpaw dug his claws into the earth, resisting the urge to leap into a play-fight with his sister like they used to do before he was taken to ShadowClan, and dipped his head respectfully. "Mh. You too." He glanced at the other ShadowClan apprentices behind him and noticed them staring at him expectantly. He felt his ears burn in embarrassment. 'Stop staring at us, damn it!'

He then remembered the dream and the fact that his sister had been there so he opened his mouth to ask her about it, but before he could, she nodded and padded off to her Clanmates. Just like that. Only a quick chit-chat. Nothing more.

Hauntpaw turned around and sat down, gazing up at the Clan leaders while trying not to seem bothered by his fellow apprentices' stares. "So what's the names of RiverClan's leader, deputy and medicine cat again?" he asked, desperate to change the current subject.

The question seemed ridicolous, though. If anything, he knew the names of RiverClan's higher ups. He had met Lionstar while he was in RiverClan, even though his memories of the golden-and-brown tabby were faint. He knew their medicine cat Hollyberry, too. As for the deputy, Waterripple, he knew a lot about her. She was his mother after all. She had decided to give him away to ShadowClan when Falconstar asked to have him and Kestrelpaw in ShadowClan. He still wondered whether she hated him or thought he would be best off with his father. It was a question he had always left unspoken.

"It is time for the gathering to begin", Falconstar announced, causing all the chattering cats to fall quiet.

"I'll start, but I have to ask RiverClan something", Autumnstar, the ThunderClan leader, said. She whipped around and faced Lionstar. "How come you were so late today? You're the ones closest to this island, aren't you?"

Lionstar's golden pelt bristled, but he forced his voice to be calm. "We took our time so that you other Clans could have the privelege of being first for once. Got any problems with that, Autumnstar?"

"No, no, just wondering. Making sure nothing bad was happening or so. You've got more apprentices than warriors here today after all", Autumnstar replied softly.

That comment seemed to hit hard on the RiverClan cats. They began to growl and even Kestrelpaw glared at the ThunderClan leader with angered eyes. Only a tail-wave from Lionstar managed to quiet them down.

"Sorry, Autumnstar. Do continue", he apologized, though the glow in his emerald eyes showed that he was hustling the words out of his mouth. Hauntkit shot another glance at the RiverClan cats to confirm whether Autumnstar was spilling foxdung or telling the truth. To his surprise, there were actually little warriors there. Only four of them seemed to be full-grown cats. Though, there were about seven or more apprentices there, so they didn't seem all that weak.

"Apology accepted, I guess. Well, ThunderClan is doing fine as always", Autumnstar declared. "Prey is running well. This new-leaf has been plentiful for us, and Blindeyes has appointed an apprentice, Amberpaw!"

The Clans, except for some RiverClan and WindClan cats, cheered the name loudly.

"So ThunderClan has a blind medicine cat and a half-crippled medicine cat?" Oakpaw commented, pointing at the ginger apprentice's twisted fore paw with his tail. "What a team."

"Oakpaw!" Tallpaw hissed. "That's so rude!"

"Well they are!" her chestnut brother protested.

"Keep quiet!" One-ear ordered.

"A fox came into our territory a few days ago, too", Autumnstar continued. "We chased it off without driving it into any of your territories, but I still recommend to be careful. It was a scarred old thing and it knew how to put up a decent fight. That's all from ThunderClan." She sat down to let the other leaders report things from their Clans.

"Huh, no 'ThunderClan is strong' or anything?" Mossstar scoffed, curling her lips in a snarl. "Since you had the guts to ask me for more territory the last Gathering I expected you to pull some fox-dung like that!"

Hauntpaw heard a groan somewhere close to him and turned his head to see who. It was the black WindClan apprentice from his dream.

"Did she have to bring that up?" she whispered to three other apprentices beside her. Hauntpaw's eyes widened. One of the apprentices was the loner kit from the dream!

Autumnstar met Mossstar's amber gaze coolly. "I think it's not the best time to discuss this, Mossstar. Besides, I don't think I need to tell you that ThunderClan is strong. That's obvious even to someone like you."

Mossstar narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. She shot a glare at her Clanmates to make sure they would not begin to insult the ThunderClan cats and forced her fur to lie flat.

"Hard to believe they were once close friends", Fuzzpelt muttered. "In my younger days, when they were apprentices and warriors, they used to share tongues and gossip so much that it was hard to believe that they were from different Clans."

Hauntpaw flattened his ears and looked up at the two she-cats in disbelief. What could drive a cat to become enemies with their best friend?

"Well, I guess I'll continue", Mossstar decided, straightening her back. "WindClan is doing fine. Prey is plentiful and we have four new apprentices; Owlpaw, Brownpaw, Nocturnalpaw and Jekyll."

"Jekyll?" The other Clans stared at WindClan in confusion and Hauntpaw glanced at the apparently former loner. The calico tom seemed unfazed by the confusion and seemed only proud to be there at all.

"Is he a former kittypet?" Lionstar questioned, an edge in his voice.

"No, he is not", Mossstar replied, unfazed as well by the confusion. "He's a former loner who decided to join WindClan about a moon ago. Is there any problem with that?"

"Of course it's a problem!" Lionstar retorted. "Judging by his name, he's probably just a kittypet who ran away from home. I don't want that stench amongst my warriors!"

"Oh, the smell of a kittypet on you fish-breaths would be an improvement", Autumnstar taunted. Hauntpaw could feel slight admiration for the orange she-cat simply because of her casualty. Not the kind of admiration he held for Falconstar, just admiring her stubbornness to get on the other leaders' nerves.

"Everyone keep quiet!" Falconstar shouted. His sharp, brown eyes were burning as he glared at the three Clan leaders. "This is a time for peace, not to throw insults at each other blindly. Let Mossstar explain. If any of you interrupt again, I will end this Gathering immediately."

Autumnstar, Lionstar and Mossstar stiffened and looked away from the ShadowClan leader. Hauntpaw and the other apprentices all stifled a joint snort of laughter. Falconstar was the oldest of the leaders and was good at making people feel bad, so in that scenario it made the other three look like kits getting scolded by their father.

"Well then, I'll explain", Mossstar said, clearing her throat. "He came to Foxtail on a patrol, as I said, about a moon ago. Since he was just a kit, Foxtail took him to camp where Jekyll then told us that he wanted to join our Clan. I couldn't just send a lonely kit away, so I let him stay. I see no problems with that, and this is WindClan's decision, so I won't listen to any of your disagreements."

Falconstar dipped his head respectfully while Lionstar still seemed spiteful about the loner kit. Autumnstar just shrugged and waited for the next one to speak.

"ShadowClan has had little trouble this new-leaf", Falconstar reported. "We have two new apprentices - Hauntpaw and Flamepaw!"

Hauntpaw shrunk and situated himself close to Flamepaw in embarrassment as the cats around him called their names. He felt One-ear's gaze bore into him, but he honestly couldn't care about her opinions at the moment. He hated being the center of attention.

As Falconstar finished, Lionstar stepped forward. "RiverClan is strong as always. The fish has recovered from the cold completely. We also have three new apprentices, Splashpaw, Reedpaw and Kestrelpaw!"

Hauntpaw let out a breath of relief as the attention turned to someone else and cheered his sister's name loudly. As the cheers died down, the leaders decided it was time to return to their territories and the Clans began to leave.  
Hauntpaw would follow them, of course.  
But he had to do something first.

He zig-zagged through the crowds until he saw some familiar faces. Amberpaw of ThunderClan, Kestrelpaw of RiverClan, Nocturnalpaw of WindClan and the former loner Jekyll were huddled together as they blended in with the crowds of different Clan cats. He joined their little group and stayed close to his sister.

"You were in my dream in which I met cats who were long dead", Nocturnalpaw said. Her brilliant green eyes gleamed in a very intrigued way. Too intrigued. Hauntpaw felt as if she was ready to crack his skull open just to find out what he was thinking... or something like that.

"Indeed we were", Kestrelpaw responded thoughtfully. "What should we do about this prophecy? Do you think it really has something to do about us five? I would do anything for my Clan, but I don't think I'm of prophecy-cat material."

"Does it mean we're going to fight something?" Jekyll asked, enthusiasm glowing in his eyes. "Because that would be awesome!"

"Yeah, sending a half-crippled medicine cat into battle seems logical", Amberpaw sniffed. Her amber eyes narrowed at the others. "We will not only fight. I'm sure there will be battles to be fought, but it is something much bigger than that. A disease is coming. An enemy unlike any other. Maggots..." She swallowed hard, seeming to feel sick. Hauntpaw frowned. He remembered a voice telling him about a coming disease and an enemy unlike any other, but nothing about maggots. Had the ginger she-cat seen something he hadn't?

"We must meet somewhere again", Amberpaw continued. "It can't wait another moon."

"But where can we meet?" Hauntpaw asked. "It's easy for me, you, Jekyll and Nocturnalpaw to meet, but it's not quite as simple for Kestrelpaw's case."

"Besides, I don't want to go against the warrior code", Kestrelpaw stated firmly. Hauntpaw tried to catch her gaze, but it was fixed on Amberpaw.

"What is more important; the warrior code or the lives of our Clanmates?" Amberpaw demanded. "If you have a problem choosing between those two, then maybe you shouldn't come."

Jekyll let out a snort of laughter. "You really take this extremely seriously, don't you?"

"StarClan did tell us about death", Nocturnalpaw mused. "You're supposed to take that seriously, Jekyll."

"Yeah, I know, but-" the calico tom began, but several shouts interrupted him.

"Amberpaw! Come over here!"

"Do you want to be left behind, Hauntpaw?"

"Nocturnalpaw! Jekyll! We don't have all night!"

"Kestrelpaw!"

"Coming!" Amberpaw shouted back. "We'll meet at the border between ShadowClan and ThunderClan, okay?" she added to the others in an urgent whisper.

"Yeah, so you and Haunty can take a nice stroll while the rest of us have almost a day's journey ahead of us", Jekyll snorted.

"I'm slower than you because of this StarClan forsaken paw, so it will probably take a day for me to get there", Amberpaw retorted. "Plus, I've decided that I will escort you two across my territory and Hauntpaw will escort Kestrelpaw across his territory. That way all our paws are gonna hurt. Got it?"

They all nodded and then scattered to go back to their Clans. Hauntpaw's heart was beating faster than ever. Amberpaw's plan was smart, for sure. If he escorted Kestrelpaw and Amberpaw escorted the two WindClan apprentices, it would be harder to get caught. But if something went wrong, what would they do?

**Author's Note: Chapter 2! Yay! Okay, so mostly dialogue in this chapter, sorry. Other stuff than "meow meow meow I'm a kitty-cat and I dance dance and I dance dance dance" XD so stay tuned... or something like that XD Hope you enjoyed! Please review! Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Review please!**

Chapter 3  
~Secrets~

"Are we there yet?" Jekyll questioned loudly.

The she-cat called Amberpaw in front of him stopped dead in her tracks and her fur began to bristle. In one heartbeat, she whipped around and thrust her muzzle in his face.

"Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut!" she hissed, her fur fluffed up twice its original size. "Do you want to get caught? Autumnstar is my mother's sister so she'll believe any lie I tell, but you two'll get shredded so badly that you'd rather retire to the elders' den than ever seeing ThunderClan claws again!" She spun around and continued to limp forward, surprisingly fast for a three-legged cat.

Nocturnalpaw padded silently up to Jekyll's side. "You really have to be quiet, Jekyll. This is important, remember?"

Jekyll sighed heavily. "I know, but I'm just so tired of walking without being able to see the sky! How do those ThunderClan cats live without being able to see Silverpelt up there?!"

Nocturnalpaw glanced up at the sky, but said nothing and continued to follow the ThunderClan medicine cat ahead of them. Jekyll let out yet another sigh as he padded after the two she-cats. He would never understand Nocturnalpaw, he knew that, but did she have to be so freaking hard to understand all the time?

'Well, what can you do...', he shrugged, and lifted his gaze from his paws and focused it on his surroundings. Now that he thought about it, the forest wasn't all bad. It looked kind of beautiful in the silver light of the moon and in the soft darkness of the night. He would only be there briefly, so he let his mind soak in the sights. That way his memories would be much clearer.

The forest soon thinned out and they found themselves in a clearing by a stream. On the other side of the stream lay a dark forest of pines, looming over the river like a shadow. Jekyll tasted the air, drinking in the scent of the pines. ShadowClan. Of course.

Amberpaw tapped the ground with her hindleg impatiently. "Aren't they here yet?! Geez, I knew it was a bad idea to let siblings go together. By StarClan, siblings! Freaking siblings. I am so glad I never got any. Siblings. Littermates. Kits. Freaking siblings."

Jekyll raised an eyebrow and exhcanged a glance with Nocturnalpaw. The medicine cat apprentice seemed to be... a little off.

"Umm... are you okay, Amberpaw?" Nocturnalpaw questioned, cautiously reaching her muzzle out to the she-cat.

"What?" Amberpaw stared at Nocturnalpaw with a confused frown on her face. "Okay? What do you mean?"

"Well, you talk about siblings and stuff and you seem to just be a little strange or stressed today", Nocturnalpaw explained, fumbling for words. Jekyll didn't understand the black she-cat very well, but he had known her for a moon and he knew she was a bit socially awkward around those she didn't know very well. She wasn't awkward around him anymore, but around others, she was really awkward.

"Oh that! Oh... sorry, I might be a little bit off today", Amberpaw apologized, staring at her paws.

"How come?" Jekyll asked bluntly. He wondered for a short hearbeat if it would come out weird, as it usually did. Ever since he came to the Clans, whenever he was straight-forward like he always was the cats mostly stared at him with offended eyes.

Amberpaw hesitated for a moment, then sat down and looked into the WindClan apprentices eyes. "My mother, Frosttail, is expecting kits."

Nocturnalpaw and Jekyll stared at the she-cat, exchanged glances with each other and then stared at the she-cat again.  
"Err... Oh no?" Jekyll said, testing what was the right thing to say.

"Indeed, 'oh no'..." Amberpaw sighed, confirming that Jekyll's test was correct.

"How is that a bad thing?" Nocturnalpaw asked curiously.

"Well, it's just that she's getting them so soon after I became apprentice", the medicine cat apprentice said, still a bit reluctant. "And I've never had siblings before. I had three littermates, but they all died. My oldest brother died seven days after birth while the others died instantly. He had problems with his lungs, I think. To top things off, I'm the medicine cat apprentice, so I'll have to be there when they get born!" She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

Nocturnalpaw padded up to her and sat down close to her. "So you're worried about your mother and unborn siblings, then."

"I don't know", Amberpaw admitted. She said nothing more. Jekyll wasn't good with other cats (and he guessed that Nocturnalpaw wasn't either), but he got that she didn't want to talk more about her personal life. Prophecy or not, they barely knew each other. So they waited in silence for the two apprentices who weren't there.

The bushes on the other side of the stream rustled and a gray-and-black tom and a spotted tabby she-cat emerged from the shadows.

"Took you long enough", Amberpaw sniffed, getting up from her sitting position while stretching her legs.

"Sorry", the gray-and-black ShadowClan apprentice apologized - Huntpaw, wasn't it? - and jumped across the stream. The RiverClan tabby followed his lead and landed lightly beside him.

"We almost ran into a ShadowClan night patrol", the she-cat - Kes-something-paw? - explained roughly. She was very doubtful about meeting other Clan cats behind her Clan's back, it seemed. "Now, shall we discuss the matter further?" she asked, giving her chest a quick lick.

"No, let's have a nice little chat about what mice might be doing when we aren't looking", Amberpaw suggested in fake cheerfulness. "What do you think, fleabrain?! I hate doing this just as much as you do, fish-face!"

The RiverClan apprentice's face was expressionless, but her ears were flattened against her neck and her whiskers were twitching irritably. "Right. Sorry."

Amberpaw let out an exasperated sigh and began pacing forth and back. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with. So, we know this: Enemies in terrifying shapes, kits will die before they have even tried breathing..." Jekyll heard her swallow hard before continuing. "And a disease without cure. The voice told me that we will find it in the skies, and we will go together when the time is right. Did you hear it too?"

They all nodded.

"Good. Now, got any ideas how we're going to get a herb which is in the skies?" Amberpaw queried, kneading the ground with her paws as she stopped in front of them.

"Maybe it's a riddle?" Huntpaw or Hauntpaw or whatever suggested. "Like, just somewhere high up?"

"The mountains", Nocturnalpaw concluded. "They pierce the skies with their peaks. The herb is probably there, somewhere."

"Of course!" Jekyll exclaimed in realization. "Ride used to tell me all the time about the mountains! He had been there once, he said! Snag said it was foxdung, but I saw he believed it, so it must be true!"

"Who are- nevermind", Kes-something-paw said, shaking her head. "Anyways, the mountains seems to be right, but when is 'the right time'?"

"I've got nothing", Hauntpaw admitted, exhaling heavily. "If the time is right, then I sure don't feel whether it is or not."

"Maybe once the disease really is here?" Nocturnalpaw suggested. "If we see just how serious it is, then maybe we'll know. Besides, they showed us the vision about the enemies first, right? So maybe we'll have to defeat the enemy to begin with."

"But what is this enemy?" Amberpaw queried, lashing her tail and flexing the claws on her twisted paw. "StarClan is asking a lot of us without telling us much. Let's see: We have to defeat an enemy in a terrifying form but we don't know what kind of creature it is, they're telling us that kits will die before they get to even breathe but we don't know if it's part of the disease or if this is a permanent curse and we have to find a cure for a disease we don't know what it is, and we don't know exactly where to find it. I'm not complaining, but a little explaining could be nice!"

Jekyll rolled his eyes. "Let's just go with the flow and with time, we might get answers, or whatever. Is that fine with you?"

The other apprentices nodded slowly. Kes-something still looked a bit dissatisfied though.

"So we had this meeting, and all we came up with is that in the right time, we might have to go to the mountains?" she rasped.

Hauntpaw shifted uncomfortably beside her. "I have to admit that even I think that it's pretty measly..."

"Well, we'll simply have more meetings", Nocturnalpaw decided. "We've done it this night, we can do it again. Besides, since we're in the same prophecy, it's a good time to get to know each other." Jekyll noticed an excited spark entering her brilliant eyes. "We can bury the Clan boundaries and become like Clanmates!"

Amberpaw raised an eyebrow. "I don't know about the last part, but getting to know each other better might be a good idea. Prophecy or not, you can still choose to betray me as soon as I turn my back on you."

"But if we're in a prophecy, this is our desitiny!" Hauntpaw protested. "Right, Kestrelpaw?"

Before Kes-something-paw - now confirmed to be Kestrelpaw - could answer, Amberpaw answered for her. "Wrong. Cats can choose their own destinies. We're not toys playing a part of someone's sick game, you know. If I wanted to, I could try and kill you right now, but I and only I tell myself that I don't want to try to kill you. But I don't know about you."

The five apprentices stayed quiet. Jekyll himself couldn't help but smiling. He liked Amberpaw's words, they seemed so full of truth. But what did he know? Snag always told him that he was more dimwitted than that dog that constantly chased its tail, after all.

"So, we'll see each other here in seven days then, maybe?" Kestrelpaw suggested, breaking through the teeth-gritting silence.

"Sounds good to me", Nocturnalpaw agreed eagerly.

"Seven days, got it", Hauntpaw checked.

"Well, see you in seven days, then", Amberpaw declared and turned around to walk away.

"Yeah, see ya!" Jekyll said, bidding them farewell and followed Amberpaw to be escorted through her territory once again.

i...i

"Try to have a safe travel home", Amberpaw hissed.

"Good-bye to you too", Nocturnalpaw sighed, but the ginger she-cat had disappeared into the shadows of the forest. Nocturnalpaw turned to the stream and leapt across with Jekyll accompanying her.

"Isn't this awesome, Nocturnalpaw?" he meowed excitedly.

"Kind of I guess", she replied. She tilted her head backward and looked at the sky. The sky had started to become lighter in one corner of the horizon. Her pelt prickled with a new kind of excitement and she ran up on the highest hill close. Jekyll called out for her to wait, but she was already sitting at the top of the hill, staring intensely at that one corner. After a couple of heartbeats, Jekyll scrambled up the hill and stood up beside her, his sides heaving up and down repeatedly.

"Why are you so intent on sitting here?" he panted.

"It's almost sunrise", she explained, her green eyes sparkling with enchantment as a golden streak crawled upon the lands. Nocturnalpaw was filled with the usual fascination. The sun was so small and so far away, and yet it lit up the whole sky and even the world.

"Uhuh, so?" Jekyll questioned, for once seeming a bit annoyed.

"I love watching the sun rise", she responded. The sun had began to climb up and she could see a small part of it now, while its rays were turning the sky blue, purple and yellow.

Reluctantly, Jekyll sat down beside her and fixed his eyes at the rising sun. It was now almost completely up, and the sky was lit up. Sunrays painted the sky and dawn woke the world up from its slumber.

Nocturnalpaw sighed. "Mother and I used to watch the sunrise all the time when she was alive", she said to Jekyll. "It feels as if she's closer to me when I do, even though I'm alone."

Jekyll sat uncharacteristically quiet. He was frowning as he stared at the sun (not directly though) and squinted as if he was trying to figure something out.

"Wh... what colors are the sky?"

Nocturnalpaw flinched and stared at him. "What?"

"I... I don't know what colors the sky are in", Jekyll confessed heavily.

Nocturnalpaw widened her eyes and frowned at the same time. "What do you mean?"

A long sigh escaped Jekyll's lips. "I'm colorblind."

**Author's Note:  
****Dan dan daaaaaaaaaaan! Poor Jekyll D: XD Wait, what? Another chapter with mostly talking, talking and talking? ... Okay, next chapter, shit's going down. Hopefully. Kinda. Sorta. Err. *shot* anyways, thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate if you review!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Please review!**

Chapter 4  
~Lonely~

Family.

Kestrelpaw heard that word all the time, and yet she never really understood the meaning of it.

What does a father do?

What does a mother do?

What do siblings do?

She let her gaze wander to Reedpaw and Splashpaw. They had been what most cats would consider foster littermates, but she had always been distant to them as well as they were distant for her.

Shimmerfur, Reedpaw and Splashpaw's mother, was watching them play with a big smile on her face. She was the she-cat who had taken care of Kestrelpaw and worked like a foster mother for her. But she, too, was distant and was the main reason that Reedpaw and Splashpaw weren't too familiar with Kestrelpaw.

Lionstar was sitting close to Shimmerfur, affection lingering in the air around him as he watched his sons play. He wasn't even close to being like an instead-of-biological-father, unlike the other three. When he had visited the nursery he had visited his sons only. Kestrelpaw was just some kit in the background to him.

They weren't her family and they didn't act like it. So what was a family?

Her brown gaze wandered to the Clan deputy, Waterripple, who was grooming her fur outside the warriors' den. The blue-silver tabby she-cat was Kestrelpaw's real mother. Or so they said.

As if she had read Kestrelpaw's mind, she looked up and stared into the apprentice's brown eyes who stared back. For an eternal moment, they were completely still, as if they were in a trance.

Kestrelpaw was the one who broke it. She got up from her sitting position and trotted away towards her mentor, Freespirit. She was talking to one of her two brothers, Kitefeather.

"... Is Kestrelpaw hard to train because of her ShadowClan blood" Kestrelpaw caught up from Kitefeather.

Freespirit's flattened her ears. "Don't say that, Kitefeather! She's just like any kit!"

"Not exactly like any kit", Kitefeather said in an excusing tone. "I'm sorry, I don't want to be like those who dislikes a cat simply because of their family and I do respect Waterripple still, but she must be different in some way. She is half-Clan after all.

Kestrelpaw blinked expressionlessly and padded up to them. "I obviously have no family, so I don't see how I can be half-Clan if I don't have any parents."

Kitefeather's orange eyes and Freespirit's dark brown ones widened in surprise. They sat and gaped at Kestrelpaw before actually using their open mouths.

"What do you mean you have no family?" Freespirit asked stiffly. "Waterripple is your mother-"

"I don't have any mother", Kestrelpaw interrupted, twitching her ear in slight irritation. "That should be obvious to anyone. Shimmerfur is a mother, but Waterripple isn't. You should know that, nobody in this Clan is her mate and deputies can't have kits, now can they? You're being ridicolous." She spun around and beckoned with her tail to Freespirit. "Can we go hunting now?

The two warriors stared at the light brown tabby apprentice with disbelieving eyes. Kestrelpaw blinked again, her face still not showing any expression. They realized what she was doing, she could see that on their faces. She gave them a curt nod to confirm it for them. She was secluding herself from the ones everyone else called her family and cutting of the bonds of blood. She was now a RiverClan apprentice with no siblings, no father, no mother. No matter what anyone tried to tell her.

i...i

Kestrelpaw was stalking a mouse under Freespirit's watch, but her thoughts were far away from that mouse.

She remembered Hauntpaw of ShadowClan, his yellow eyes when she had said those words to him after the secret meeting with the other three cats.

_"You are not my brother. You're the son of Tornbreeze and Waterripple, but I am not. I have no family, so don't act like you're part of it."_

She still felt a strange sting in her heart whenever she remembered the despair in his eyes, and it hurt even more when she remembered his full reaction.

He had sat down and closed his eyes, forcing his voice not to quiver or stutter. She could see that on his strained expression.

_"You're right. We're not littermates. I'm sorry to have bothered you so much, Kestrelpaw of RiverClan."_

How she wished to have the times in the nursery back. Waterripple had been her mother. Hauntpaw had been her brother. Tornbreeze sometimes visited even though he was in ShadowClan and he had been their father. But those times would never come back. She had already decided to put them behind her. No family. There was something sad about that, but she couldn't understand why. How could she be sad about something she had lost without really having it?

Suddenly, a loud noise startled the mouse and it ran away from her prior to her reaction. Freespirit let out a groan. "Thunder in late green-leaf... great. Just great."

Her apprentice flattened her ears. She didn't like thunder. It sounded as if the sky was angry and was about to crash down on her. Instinctively, she dashed to Freespirit and cowered by her mentor's side, staring wide-eyed at the sky. Freespirit raised an eyebrow at her.

"Kestrelpaw? What's wrong?" she asked. "Are you afraid of thunder? It isn't dangerous, it's just a sound."

Kestrelpaw didn't answer, her ears burning in embarrassment. Lightning struck down somewhere far away and she crouched down, pushing a wail down her throat. Freespirit's gaze bore into her pelt and she could feel the pity flowing down on her from the white she-cat which only made things worse.

"It's okay", Freespirit assured her. "Everyone's afraid of something."

Kestrelpaw dug her claws into the ground and looked away from her mentor, glaring at the direction of camp. They were around the place close to horseplace and the bridge to the island where gatherings were held. Her gaze drifted to the bridge. She had always thought of it as a symbol of bad times. Not because of the gatherings, the gatherings were a good thing, but the fact that Mudclaw, an ancient WindClan warrior, had been crushed by that tree during a storm just felt morbid to her. That had been on her mind the whole time when she had crossed the bridge on her first gathering, and it made her fear thunder even more.

Truthfully, lightning and thunder was the most terrifying things in the world to her. There was nothing you could do to fight it, you could just cope with it.

She froze.

_Be prepared to face the ones in the most terrifying forms._

Kestrelpaw stared at the sky as a lightning struck down again. 'Don't tell me... The storm is the enemy we must face?!'

She heard Freespirit's voice distantly and she realized that she must look really strange at the moment. Giving herself a shake, she turned to her mentor again. "Sorry, I got a little lost. I'm sorry the mouse ran away, I will catch a new one and give it to Scarface and Silentvoice."

The white she-cat narrowed her eyes at her apprentice, but understood the light brown tabby didn't want to talk about it and nodded. "Fine. Remember not to arch your back and to make sure the wind is right."

Kestrelpaw dipped her head and began to search for new prey. She couldn't think of the prophecy right now. What mattered was to do whatever she could to help her Clan.

**AN: Shoooooooort chappie! Oh wellz, this was mostly to show off Kestrelpaw's motivations and personality. As you might see, she really wants to prove to her Clan that she is as loyal as any cat ^^ Thanks so much for reading! Please review, hope you enjoyed and that you will continue reading! Thanks to the ones who have already reviewed this story, too! I really appreciate it!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Please do review!**

Chapter 5  
~Breathe~

Amberpaw strode into Autumnstar's den without asking for permission. "Autumnstar?"

The orange-and-red tabby raised her head drowsily and began to stretch.  
"Oh hi Amberpaw!" she yawned and padded up to Amberpaw to give her forehead a lick. "What makes you come here?"

"I was just going to ask you if you really are going to battle with WindClan in three days", Amberpaw replied, flattening her ears in irritation of being treated like a kit. Her eyes were heavy with sleep; last night she had went on the eighth secret meeting with the four other cats of the prophecy. Limping all over the territory was extremely tiring, especially when she had to avoid night patrols all the time and Jekyll's constant babbling made things worse.

To make things even worse, Kestrelpaw had said something very worrying on the seventh meeting. She said she had figured it out long ago but had decided to keep it hidden from them just because she didn't think it made sense at first, but seeing as they didn't have any other ideas she had told them then.

"I think the storm is our enemy."

The thought of having the storm as an enemy was terrifying for Amberpaw and it didn't make sense at all, but that was what made it make sense. It was terrifying, it was unknown, it was grand and no cat wasn't afraid of it. If that was their enemy, then she needed to consult StarClan, and fast. A battle with WindClan would be a disaster in times like these.

Autumnstar grinned widely. "Indeed, the battle is in three days! Isn't that great?"

"But we have no reason to fight!" Amberpaw protested. "We have enough territory, and the Clan is well-fed! Why fight now?"

"Autumnstar?" a voice called from outside the den, interrupting their conversation. Amberpaw froze. It was her mother.

"Come in Frosttail!" the Clan leader replied, and the white-and-silver she-cat walked inside, walking with graceful steps even when her belly was round with kits. Blindeyes rushed inside after her, glaring with unseeing eyes at the she-cat.

"I've told you to stay in the nursery!" the medicine cat hissed. "You have more than four kits in that belly of yours, it's not good for you to walk around like that!"

"It's been barely two moons, it's still a while before it's time. Leafdapple should be more of your concern", Frosttail replied calmly. Her pale green eyes locked with Autumnstar's dark green ones. "Anyways, I came here to ask you to reconsider the battle with WindClan. Amberpaw has already pointed out the cons with this battle, except for the fact that it will make her and Blindeyes' work harder. In other words, I believe this battle will only bring harm to the Clan."

Amberpaw's pelt bristled at just how formal Frosttail's voice sounded. She didn't know her mother that well, but something told her that the white she-cat was hiding something. Autumnstar seemed to notice it too, but shrugged it off quickly.

"I disagree", Autumnstar responded, grinning. "I think this is a good time to show that ThunderClan is long past the days in which we chose to back down. Once we win that patch of territory, we'll have more prey to eat and the respect our Clan deserve!"

Amberpaw had to admit, no matter how many times she had joked about her aunt being nuts, the orange-and-red she-cat was damn good at making motivational speeches. Or, well, for cats who liked having reasons to be proud over the Clan they lived in.

"But what if we don't?" Frosttail queried.

"If we don't, then we won't lose anything", her sister replied casually. "They haven't demanded any territory - all they'll 'win' is to keep the land I want. Sure, some cats might be injured, but we have Blindeyes and Amberpaw! There's no way someone's gonna bite the dust when they're here."

Amberpaw felt her ears burn in embarrassment and looked away. To her surprised amusement, Blindeyes did the same thing. Apparantly, except for their sarcastic attitudes, they had something in common.

"Seriously, what's going on in here?" Meadowpelt asked as she entered the den, frowning at the assembled cats. Her light green eyes lit up as she came up with something. "Is this like a family meeting or something? Can I join in?"

"Sure, come sit here! We're discussing tomorrow's battle", Autumnstar said, tapping the ground beside her with her paw.

"Oh, that", the deputy said distantly. Amberpaw wondered if she, too, thought that the battle seemed worthless.

"Well?" Frosttail intervened, obviously impatient. "Will you cancel the battle or not?"

Autumnstar blinked and smiled warmly at the cats around her. Amberpaw knew that, in spite of her fight-loving nature, the orange she-cat treasured the ones close to her above everything else, so when the medicine cat apprentice noticed a hint of sadness in her leader's eyes she could understand why.  
"I'm sorry, but I can't back down now. But I promise, no ThunderClan cat will get hurt. None of you will get hurt, trust me. I won't allow that."

'What about Nocturnalpaw and Jekyll?' Amberpaw questioned inside her head, feeling a sting of worry for her prophecy-friends. 'Will they make it?'

i...i

"Amberpaw!"

Said she-cat spun around at the familiar voice calling her name. It was her father, Darkcloud, who was skidding to a halt behind her.

"I was just wondering what you, Frosttail, Blindeyes and Meadowpelt were talking about", he said, smiling widely. "Or was it some private she-cat stuff a tom like me couldn't possibly understand?"

Amberpaw raised an incredulous eyebrow at her father. She had to give him credit - he was quite optimistic with a thought of the fact that they were going to fight WindClan within three days. "I wanted to try to make Autumnstar stop the battle, then Fr- mother came in and asked for the same thing as me. Blindeyes followed her, telling her to go back to the nursery with Leafdapple. Then Meadowpelt came in and said only a few words. That's all, really."

Darkcloud's eyes were tinged with worry at the mentioning of Frosttail walking around camp, but he quickly shook it off. "I see. So you're not too happy about the battle, huh. I'd lie if I'm as eager as everyone else around here. But oh well, I'm sure it'll be fine. We're all strong, after all. How's your training going, by the way?"

Amberpaw let a small smile take place on her face. Her relationship with Frosttail was very distant, but Darkcloud had a way to make her happy. By, you know, caring about her. "It's going fine, thanks. I haven't mistaken foxglove seeds for poppy seeds yet, so I'd say it's going pretty smooth."

"That's certainly smooth", Darkcloud chuckled. "Just remember to keep that 'yet' for a very long time."

"I will, dad."

"That's my kit", he purred and pulled her close to him with his paw. That's where the line was, though. Amberpaw could hear Shellpaw and Olivepaw giggling by the apprentices' den and she squirmed out of her father's grasp. She both liked and disliked his way of always being so affectionate.

"I'm going to the nursery to give Leafdapple borage leaves", she said, showing him the small leaves she had in a package made of beech leaves. "I don't have time for nuzzling now, dad."

Darkcloud wasn't the least offended by this, though. Instead, he brightened up. "Oh, good! I was going to check up on Frosttail, too, so we can go to the nursery together!"

Amberpaw's ears drooped. 'Oh, great. Now they're gonna be all fluffy and nuzzly. Ugh.'

The two trotted across the hollow and to the den where queens and kits lived, where Amberpaw had been spending all her time barely two moons ago.

"Leafdapple!" she called as she went inside the nursery. The tortoiseshell she-cat looked up at her with friendly green eyes. "I've got some borage leaves for you. Here", she continued as she put down the package.

"Thank you, Amberpaw", Leafdapple purred and swallowed the seeds.

"Good thing I told Blindeyes that you needed it", Frosttail said in a scolding tone. "You need to take care of yourself more, Leafdapple. It's also for your kits, you know."

"I just don't want to be a bother", the tortoiseshell replied, shifting uneasily in her nest.

Amberpaw rolled her eyes. "Yes, because it's not like me and Blindeyes are trained to help you or anything..."

Leafdapple sighed. "Sorry..."

"How are you feeling, Frosttail?" Darkcloud asked, touching noses with his mate.

"I'm fine, Darkcloud", Frosttail purred affectionately, giving him a lick on his ear. Amberpaw grimaced with her tongue stuck out and Leafdapple stifled a chuckle.  
"Don't do that, Amberpaw", the tortoiseshell queen whispered. "Frosttail must've told you not to when you were a kit!"  
"Well I told them that when I'm around, they can't get all snuggly", came Amberpaw's stubborn response as she walked over to the exit of the nursery. Just as she was about to leave, however, Leafdapple let out a sudden shriek.

The medicine cat apprentice spun around and rushed over to the she-cat's side. "What is it?!"

"I... I think the kits are coming", Leafdapple said, frantically scraping her claws against the ground as her body spasmed and she let out a yowl of pain.

Panic began to grip Amberpaw and her mind raced. "Darkcloud, fetch Blindeyes! I'm going to get poppy seeds!"

Her father nodded, frenzied. "Where is she?"

"She's-"

"-in here", the blind medicine cat finished, stepping inside the nursery. "I'm blind, not deaf. Besides, even a deaf cat would be able to hear her yowl. Now get some ragwort leaves and juniper berries. Darkcloud, fetch a stick if you want to be of any use. Leafdapple, keep calm and breathe. You will be fine."

Amberpaw turned around on one paw and rushed out of the nursery and to the medicine cat den. Once there she collected as many as she could, she hopped back and hissed at anyone who might be in her way.

"Amberpaw, how's Leafdapple?" Birchleaf queried. Amberpaw could tell he was worried sick, but she didn't have time to talk to him and just pushed past him and went into the nursery again.

"Here", she panted heavily, putting down the herbs in front of Leafdapple. Blindeyes mixed the ragwort leaves and the juniper berries together and gave them to the kitting queen who obediently took them in spite of her whole body shaking in pain. She let out another shriek of pain and Amberpaw felt every hair on her body raise. Blood began to pour out of the she-cat, but no bundle of fur came out yet.

"B-Blindeyes, should we give her fennel too?" the ginger apprentice asked, her voice quivering.

"No", Blindeyes replied. "Too many herbs at once can be dangerous for her and her kits."

"Here's the stick!" Darkcloud called as he entered the nursery and dropped a pretty thick stick, but it was still thin enough for a cat to put their jaws around it.

"Good. Leafdapple, bite it and push! It will ease the pain", Blindeyes ordered. The tortoiseshell she-cat did as she was told and slammed her eyes shut, pressing out a yowl as she pushed. A wet bundle of fur dropped out and Frosttail rushed forward to lick it.

"Leafdapple?" Birchleaf wailed from outside. He sounded helpless and desperate, but Amberpaw couldn't help but to let out a hiss.

"You can't be in there now, Birchleaf", Darkcloud warned, keeping the spotted white tom from entering. "She has to have room. It's crowded enough already. Don't worry, Frosttail, Blindeyes and Amberpaw will take care of them."

"But I want to help her!" Birchleaf whimpered. Amberpaw wasn't looking at him, but she could hear him beging to pace around outside the nursery, trying to get past Darkcloud.

"I know you do", Darkcloud soothed. "But you'll have to save that for later. You'll only stress her if you try to help now."

Amberpaw shook her head and closed her ears, ignoring any sound but Blindeyes' voice. Leafdapple pushed and another kit came out.

"Darkcloud! Let Birchleaf in so he can take care of this kit!" Blindeyes called. Birchleaf rushed inside, but before he could reach the kit the medicine cat hissed at him. "Don't run. Keep calm. If you panic, it can be the death of your kits and maybe even your mate."

Birchleaf nodded and began to wash the second kit, his tongue roughly stroking the kit's fur the opposite way to warm it. Amberpaw thought she spotted a worried expression on her mentor's face, but it quickly changed to determined once again and she focused on Leafdapple only.

"Just a little bit more, Leafdapple", Blindeyes told the tortoiseshell firmly. The queen let out another yowl and the third kit came out. Amberpaw quickly got to the kit and began to lick it.

"That's all of them", Blindeyes said, and Leafdapple let out a breath of relief.

"Can I see them?" she asked, panting heavily and smiling weakly.

"Blindeyes has to check on them first", Frosttail replied softly. Amberpaw flinched as she detected a frown on her mother's face - something wasn't right.

"Yes, I must", her mentor agreed, walking stiffly to the cream kit Frosttail was taking care of at the moment. The dark gray medicine cat bowed her head down and sniffed the kit, nudging it lightly. Amberpaw was still licking the pale ginger kit she had taken when she noticed exactly what was wrong.

The kits were completely still.

'Those who have not breathed a single breath will die before they are allowed to.'

'No!' Amberpaw screeched inside her head and started to lick the pale ginger kit roughly, almost ferociously. 'It can't start now! Not now! I don't want to see someone die! Please, please, please don't do this! Wake up, kit!'

"W-What's wrong, Blindeyes?" Leafdapple questioned, her voice quivering from exhaustion and anxiety. "Is there something wrong with my kits?"

Birchleaf had stopped licking the tortoiseshell kit and was looking at his mate with pale gray eyes full of grief. He touched her muzzle with his own and closed his eyes. "Leafdapple... They're... they're running with StarClan now."

Amberpaw could hear Leafdapple beginning to desperately deny it and she did the same in her head, mentally shouting at StarClan not to take the kit at any chance.

"Amberpaw..." Blindeyes meowed. There was pity in her voice and it was obvious that she was searching for the right words.

"Amberpaw, stop it", Frosttail ordered softly. "You can't save him. They've already gone to StarClan. Let his mother see him now. It's the least you can do."

The ginger apprentice hesitated for a moment, but soon followed her mother and mentor's advice. Leafdapple carefully picked up the pale ginger tom and placed him with his littermates by her belly. Her whole body was shaking and she buried her nose in their pelts. Birchleaf pressed his muzzle into her neck and whispered constantly things like "it's going to be okay", "StarClan will take care of them" and such. Darkcloud had entered the den and was sitting by Frosttail's side, his head bowed in honor of the lost kits. Blindeyes had her unseeing gaze fixed at Leafdapple. Their Clanmates had gathered outside, peering inside with sad eyes.

Everything was quiet.

Until an offended squeak broke through the silence. Amberpaw flinched and stared at the three dead kits. One of them, the cream tabby tom Frosttail had washed, was squirming and mewling, pushing his dead siblings in order to get to his mother. The Clan cats gasped in astonishment, except for Frosttail. Amberpaw frowned as she noticed her mother just giving the kit a satisfied nod. Had she known that the kit was alive?

Leafdapple nudged the tiny tom towards her belly and he began suckling hungrily. A squeak escaped him once in a while, as if he was calling for his siblings to come and eat too. The thought fell upon Amberpaw like a fallen tree falls on the ground and she was pulled back into an old memory, seven days after her own birth. She had only just opened her eyes and she still could barely see. Her brother was lying beside her, on top of her twisted paw. It hurt, so she let out a high-pitched squeak to tell him to get off. But he wouldn't.  
He was completely still.  
No heartbeat. No twitching. No breathing.  
She tried to squeak again, but he still gave her no reaction. Her mother woke up and nudged her brother, but he continued to sleep. He never woke up.

"He's healthy", Blindeyes confirmed, dragging Amberpaw back to reality. "If he's kept warm and well-fed he'll survive."

Birchleaf nodded, relieved. "Thank StarClan..." he breathed. He turned sorrowfully to the two dead kits. "I'll... I'll bury them, Leafdapple. You need to rest." He pressed his forehead against his mate's. "I'm so very proud of you... both of you."

Leafdapple was quiet, staring blankly at her three kits. "We need to name them first", she said, determined. She gave the tortoiseshell kit a careful lick. "Her name will be Petalkit. And he will be Sparkkit", she added, touching the pale ginger tom's nose with her own. At last, she turned her gaze to her mate, expecting him to name their one living kit.

The spotted white tom inhaled heavily and looked down at the cream tabby tom. "... Hazelkit", he decided after a long moment of brooding. "His name will be Hazelkit."

Leafdapple nodded and licked her son's forehead gently. "Hazelkit. I like that name."

i...i

"You did really well, Amberpaw", Blindeyes praised, spinning around in her nest to lie down comfortably. "Make sure to sleep well. This day hasn't been easy for you."

Amberpaw nodded curtly and flopped down in her nest. The sight of death was imprinted in her mind and she couldn't shake it off. She hated death. Hated it so very much.

'Never again', she thought determinedly. 'Never again will a cat die by my paws. We'll have to find that herb as soon as possible.'

Her belly churned with worry and anxiety. The next meeting would be in twenty days, prolonged because of the battle between WindClan and ThunderClan. Besides that, the disease hadn't begun yet since Hazelkit survived, so if they gone to early then maybe the herb would wither before it came to any use. What's more, what if there wasn't enough herbs for all the Clans? How many would get the disease?

Slowly, Amberpaw drifted into sleep with her thoughts in a blur of flurry.

**Author's Note:  
Phew, the fifth chapter! Hooray! So the disease hasn't really caught up yet, since Hazelkit is alive. The others simply died, which happens all the time, sadly. Sadness, sadness. Well, at least they'll get over it! ... Hopefully. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed, please review and thanks for reading!**


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